The Killeen City Council will interview applicants for the District 4 seat on June 28, and could potentially select a replacement on the same day.

At a special meeting Saturday, the council voted to approve a timeline to fill the vacated seat. The deadline for applications is 5 p.m. Thursday.

Council members Juan Rivera and Billy Workman were not present at Saturday's meeting.

Prior to discussion of the timeline, Mayor Timothy Hancock addressed the council regarding the need to fill the empty seat.

"I would like to remind council and all of the citizens why it is necessary that we fill this position," Hancock said. "If you look this morning, we have four council members here and two council members that are absent."

Hancock went on to explain that seven total council members were needed in case some were absent, to ensure meetings had a quorum.

"Without a quorum, this council cannot conduct city business," he said.

The city may be able to move forward without that particular council member, but cannot move forward without a quorum, Hancock said.

Hancock said the city needed the "expertise of the full seven council members that represent the city."

"Please understand why we are going through this process," he said.

Interim City Manager Glenn Morrison outlined the process and timeline for selecting a replacement for the vacant seat.

Morrison said the city would continue to accept applications until Thursday. Applicants would then be interviewed on June 28 by the council.

"We don't know how many applicants we will get," Morrison said. "We feel like it's very important to start this meeting early. It is a regular City Council night. We're proposing we start at 1 (p.m.) and going till 4 (p.m.)."

"That gives you an opportunity to deliberate and hopefully make that selection on the same night," he said. "We'll have it on the agenda, so you can do just that."

"How you interview, the timing of the interview, that's up to you," he said.

Morrison said the aim of the process was to "get us to a potential selection on Tuesday."

He did not specify whether his office would pre-screen the applications to reduce the number of applicants the council would be interviewing.